How do I remove the Unity launcher?

Question

How can we remove the launcher that come with Unity on this new Ubuntu version ?

score 35 · Answer 1 · answered Mar 07 '12 at 13:28

35

In 12.04, you can go to System Settings > Appearance > Behavior and turn on autohide, then turn the sensitivity all the way down. Now the launcher will only show when you press Super.

answered Mar 07 '12 at 13:28

Knowledge Cube

14,781

Or if you drag icons to the left side of the screen (an issue if you install a dock with drag-n-drop features). – Rasmus Apr 27 '12 at 07:22
In 11.10 it's an issue if you drag anything at all (images from a webpage, for example). – weberc2 May 02 '12 at 13:31
13.04: you can choose the top left corner only (not the whole left side) – Marius Hofert May 18 '13 at 08:29

weberc2 · Answer 2 · 2012-05-02T13:30:18.233

14

Install ccsm (Compiz Config Settings Manager)
Launch ccsm and click on the "Unity Plugin"
Under "Behavior", change "Hide Launcher" to "autohide"
Change "Reveal Mode" to None.
Disable "Key to show launcher" and "Key to put focus on launcher"

*Disabling "Key to show launcher" may prevent you from accessing the dash. If you omit this part of step 5, you can access the dash, but the launcher will appear non-invasively while the dash is displayed. I don't know of any way to stop this.

Update: 12.04 does things differently, thus this may not work after 11.10.

edited May 02 '12 at 13:30

answered Feb 23 '12 at 13:50

weberc2

1,402

1

Step 4 is not available in 12.04. See the answer by WarriorIng64 for a workaround. – Rasmus Apr 27 '12 at 07:25
12.04 was released one day before you posted. My answer from February applied to 11.10. ;) I'll update it nonetheless. – weberc2 May 02 '12 at 13:28
With multiple monitors, you may need to change the "Edge stop veliocity" (experimental) to 1 in order to prevent the mouse pointer from getting "stuck" moving between monitors. – tylerl Sep 26 '12 at 06:25
In 12.10 Compiz does not have "none" option for reveal mode. – Patrick Apr 19 '13 at 15:58
@pthurmond as my answer mentions, this may not work after 11.10 – weberc2 Apr 20 '13 at 18:04
@weberc2 I'm just clarifying for other readers that it definitely doesn't work. – Patrick Apr 21 '13 at 03:26
yes, this does the job pretty well in ubuntu 14.10 i removed the launcher and installed plank dock. looks pretty neat. – Silver Moon Jan 15 '15 at 05:40

score 11 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 29 '11 at 15:13

11

In simple words: you can't. By design, the launcher is intended to stay there always. If you want to give it up, the only way to do so is to give up the entire unity interface by switching to some other DE or by switching to the classic GNOME session.

Moving the launcher to some other edge of the screen is also not implemented and wouldn't be, as per Mark's comment on a bug.

answered Apr 29 '11 at 15:13

Bilal Akhtar

2,978

1

I won't to switch to another DE, I tried I don't like them. I use Cairo-Dock and I would like to get rid of the launcher permanently. Why is this impossible. Why are there artificial limitations? Why is this design accepted? – 4xy Dec 27 '15 at 14:58
1

One may add to this answer that there are ways to make launcher autohide, since this is an accepted answer – Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy Jan 20 '16 at 22:28
1

I completely agree with 4xy's points. wtf? This is exactly the kind of behaviour that made me switch to Linux from Windows! Can we raise this somewhere? Thanks for your clear answer Bilal! Of course this doesnt go against you. – Jakob Jun 15 '18 at 03:06

Jjed · Answer 4 · 2012-01-03T09:16:40.123

9

You could do the following:

Install and launch the ComizConfig Settings Manger.
Select the Ubuntu Unity Plugin.
Set the Hide Launcher option to 'Autohide'.
Set the Reveal Mode option from 'Left' to 'None'.

That should do the trick. You may need to execute setsid unity for the changes to apply.

edited Jan 03 '12 at 09:16

answered Oct 14 '11 at 07:31

Jjed

13,874

2

+1 for effort. But it's still there until something pushes it out of the way. – Brandon Bertelsen Oct 14 '11 at 08:23
I'm certain. I read those exact steps on another website. Followed them. Same deal, even though auto-hide is selected it's acting much like one would expect from dodge windows. – Brandon Bertelsen Oct 14 '11 at 08:33
Actually, now that I try alternatives. No matter what I set it to, it dodges. – Brandon Bertelsen Oct 14 '11 at 08:35
Perhaps that option just isn't taking. Is there a method to apply the change without ccsm? – Brandon Bertelsen Oct 14 '11 at 08:36
Same for me... Autohide + none, I checked plugin is activated... But still have this stupid pannel. I am not using Unity 2D. – Waza_Be Oct 14 '11 at 08:46
using gconf-editor I can see the option, apps/compiz-1/plugins/unityshell/screen0/options/launcher_hide_mode ... but it doesn't seem to have any effect when I change it manually. – Brandon Bertelsen Oct 14 '11 at 08:49
@Profete162 can you try running unity --replace? – Brandon Bertelsen Oct 14 '11 at 08:50

score 6 · Answer 5 · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:25

6

You can go back to the classic GNOME session as described in this answer.

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:25

Community

1

answered May 12 '11 at 18:43

htorque

64,798

score 3 · Answer 6 · edited Jul 09 '12 at 00:41

In the file /usr/share/unity-2d/shell/Shell.qml, and can be edited with the command

gksudo gedit /usr/share/unity-2d/shell/Shell.qml

The way to remove the remnant bar that was floating there was to set:

LauncherLoader {
id: launcherLoader
anchors.top: parent.top
anchors.bottom: parent.bottom
width: 0

^Change the width to either 0 or 1, 1 will show 1 pixel, but will not produce graphic artifacts.

Is there a less hack-y way to do this?

The other file can be edited using

gksudo gedit /usr/share/unity-2d/shell/launcher/Launcher.qml

I am aware of the autohide feature in CCSM, however that is not what I am looking for. I wanted to place a separate launcher OVER unity, and the sensitivity of autohide would make it difficult to use both.

Dewb · Answer 7 · 2012-04-13T21:09:15.073

in compiz i went to the unity section and then the experimental tab and set these values to simply 'fool' the bar into never appearing unless the super button is pressed. If I can get the dash to separate from the bar entirely and move it to Cairo dock i will be extremely satisfied. ...........anyway Experimental Tab

panel opacity 0.0050
Launcher Opacity 0.0000
Reveal Edge 0.2000
Reveal Pressure 999 (this is the main one so mouse cant grab window)
Edge Overcome pressure 1
mouse pressure decay 1
edge stop 1
menu fade in and the rest are all 0
launcher captures mouse ....UNCheCkEd

this way their is no hacking just a little easy tweaking and dash is still there and bar is only visible when hitting dash ...... i guess i could go remove all the launchers from it now and then it would hardly be noticeable.....cheers

you can also go in the config editor and change these values with greater range

score 2 · Answer 8 · answered May 12 '11 at 18:42

2

If you log out, insert your username you can then choose (at the bottom) to log into 'Ubuntu Classic'. That'll get you the old 2 panel style gnome.

answered May 12 '11 at 18:42

Rinzwind

299,756

score 2 · Answer 9 · edited Mar 11 '17 at 19:00

2

at least, you can set it to "autohide", ccsm has an option for that

Install CompizConfig Settings Manager (CCSM).
Alt + F2
type about:config and press Enter
change the hide launcher setting to autohide.

edited Mar 11 '17 at 19:00

Community

1

answered May 13 '11 at 22:52

tobi

2,232

score 2 · Answer 10 · edited Jun 12 '20 at 14:37

2

Important:

If would you want gnome panels before disabling launcher;

Navigate to System>Preferences>Startup Applications

Click Add

Name=Gnome panels
Command=gnome-panel

And click close button.

It's ok.

-Unity with gnome panels

Press SUPER key and type

ccsm

than press ENTER.

Disable unity plugin from Compiz Config window (uncheck click box)

Logout & Login to Ubuntu session

-Unity without launcher ...

edited Jun 12 '20 at 14:37

Community

1

answered May 13 '11 at 23:21

decent

88

Decent's answer is a kind of solution, but if you do so, you get rid not only of the launcher, but also of the search facility. You can keep only the bar on the upper part of the screen. – Jul 25 '11 at 12:38
This works great except you loose the ability to move, close, and resize windows using the mouse. I therefore recommend enabling "Effects" -> "Window Decorations" in ccsm and then setting up hot-keys to your favorite apps (e.g. gnome-terminal, nautilus, etc...) in "General" -> "Commands". – Lucas Jun 28 '17 at 02:53

score 2 · Answer 11 · edited Jan 07 '12 at 19:28

2

If you're using Unity 2d you just rename the file /usr/bin/unity-2d-launcher to something else, it will do the trick. You will lose search functionality too, but the menubar will work.

edited Jan 07 '12 at 19:28

Jorge Castro

71,754

answered Sep 08 '11 at 10:36

rob34

21

Has this been renamed in 12.04? Can't seem to find it. – Rasmus May 02 '12 at 18:38

score 1 · Answer 12 · answered Mar 12 '12 at 17:52

Did you try to hide the Unity Launcher at all? Install Compiz Config Manager (ccsm), run it, and go to Unity Plugin, then open the Advanced Tab (if I remember that correctly -- the last one), and there should be an option to hide the launcher completely. I presume that the Windows-button functionality should still work with dash completely hidden. However, I cannot guarantee this completely removes the launcher, it might, probably, show up when you do something...

score 1 · Answer 13 · answered Apr 29 '11 at 14:50

1

Sure when you login, choose your name and when the password box comes up look at the bottom panel and select Ubuntu Classic.

answered Apr 29 '11 at 14:50

wojox

11,362

1

I don't mean to be drastic. I like the search facility. I just don't like the launcher on the left side. (because I already use cairo dock). Can't have one without the other ? – MEM Apr 29 '11 at 14:51
You can always patch sources of Unity (if you can :) – Extender Apr 29 '11 at 16:41

score 1 · Answer 14 · answered Dec 17 '13 at 07:45

Use Unity Tweak tool and set the launcher to autohide and then take the reveal sensitivity to the lowest setting, and the unity launcher will only appear when you press super.

By design the Unity Launcher cannot be removed, if you want it gone completely then you can try other desktop environments such as GNOME, Xfce or KDE.

score 1 · Answer 15 · edited May 13 '11 at 17:20

1

You can disable the unity plugin in cssm and log out and in again, and it's gone. But before that perhaps add something like awn to your startup applications.

edited May 13 '11 at 17:20

belacqua

23,120

answered May 12 '11 at 19:21

greg henderson

11

So a dock is always necessary? – Jeannie May 12 '11 at 19:24
Nope. You can manage well with keyboard shortcuts. – desgua Oct 02 '11 at 00:56

score 1 · Answer 16 · answered Oct 19 '11 at 15:14

1

Use unity-2d-panel. It's installed by default. To see what that would feel like, press alt+f2 and run metacity --replace && unity-2d-panel.

answered Oct 19 '11 at 15:14

Jo-Erlend Schinstad

29,531

score 1 · Answer 17 · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:23

1

You could change/disable the reveal mode of the launcher. This will not disable the launcher but then the only way of revealing the launcher will be to press the Super key.

To do this, complete steps 1-3 as mentioned by tobi. Now the settings for the reveal mode is displayed, and all you have to do is change the reveal mode.

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:23

Community

1

answered Nov 17 '11 at 20:39

Dr. S

11

score 0 · Answer 18 · answered Apr 14 '12 at 19:22

0

I know this is more than a year layer, but I still wanted to give my answer: Install Compiz-Config-Settings-Manager, open it up, DISABLE Unity Plugin completely, install GnoMenu or Cardapio, or any of the other search utilities available as plugins for cairo-dock, and there you go!

Also, instead of trying to fix Gnome, another alternative is KDE. Install kubuntu-desktop from the software center and you won't regret it.

answered Apr 14 '12 at 19:22

Andrew

29
1

Could you tell me how this is different from any of the other upvoted answers? – Fabby Oct 06 '15 at 09:25

score 0 · Answer 19 · answered May 26 '17 at 19:14

0

For Unity 7.4.0 replace the file "/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/compiz/libunityshell.so" with this file

libunityshell.so

After replacing file ,set the launcher in autohide mode and restart pc. This will completely hide unity-launcher even while launching dash. Hope it works.

answered May 26 '17 at 19:14

Sanjay Prajapat

877

1

Where is the source code? – Jo-Erlend Schinstad May 26 '17 at 19:38
@Jo-ErlendSchinstad , here is source
https://askubuntu.com/questions/719870/compile-unity-without-launcher
– Sanjay Prajapat May 27 '17 at 13:50
No, that's not a legal reference. You must provide a link to the source code you used to compile your binary. – Jo-Erlend Schinstad May 28 '17 at 01:00

How do I remove the Unity launcher?

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